The The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to propose new rules limiting car tailpipe emissions this week as part of a plan to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles in the US.
Why it matters: Transport is the main source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country.
- Reducing vehicle pollution is a crucial aspect of the US pledge under the Paris Agreement to reduce emissions by 50% below 2005 levels by 2030.
Driving the news: The EPA is expected to implement a draft plan that would set emissions standards for light-duty vehicles, including cars, SUVs and pickup trucks from the 2027-2032 model years, an agency official told Axios.
- Another draft plan will set rules for heavy vehicles and engines.
- The New York Times reports that the regulations would effectively require electric vehicles to account for 54% to 60% of new car sales by 2030 and 64% to 67% by 2032, though the Washington Post notes that these figures represented the strictest of several options in the rule.
- The EPA official stressed to Axios in an email that “the proposal process is not yet final.”
The big picture: President Biden has set a non-binding goal for at least 50 percent of all new cars sold by 2030 to be zero-emission models, including electric and hydrogen fuel cell models.
Of note: Automakers such as Ford and General Motors have stepped up sales of electric vehicles.
What they are saying: “Tailpipe emissions pollute the air we breathe and make severe weather worse,” Fred Krupp, president of the advocacy nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund, said in a statement welcoming the expected EPA action.
- “The race to cleaner air, a safer climate and more American-made jobs is on.”
In the meantime, The industry group, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, noted in a memo that “a clear assessment of market readiness is required” and the “answer on the feasibility of the rules is: it depends.”
Deepen: Full story in Axios Generate on Monday
